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Rt
Hon David Blunkett MP to appear on Mastermind
The
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Secretary David Blunkett, Stephen
Fry, chair of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TWO's quiz QI, and EastEnders' Barry
Evans, Shaun Williamson, head the list of celebrities
invited to sit in the infamous black chair and pit their wits against
the clock and each other in three Mastermind Celebrity Specials
for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TWO.
Also
taking their place in the hot seat will be bird-watcher Bill
Oddie, the Poet Laureate Andrew Motion,
newsreader Julia Somerville, Jeremy Bowen,
Gyles Brandreth, Germaine Greer,
athlete Tanni Grey Thompson, celebrity chef Anthony
Worrall-Thompson and Charlie Higson from
The Fast Show.
Each
of the special episodes will put the contestants through their paces
- they will each have to face the lonely walk to the black chair,
the two minutes in the spotlight and the brusque and intimidating
questioning of quizmaster John Humphrys, who will be presiding over
each of the contests.
A commemorative
glass bowl will be presented to each of the winners.
The
three specials will follow the same format as the original series
with all the contestants having to answer questions on their chosen
specialised subject together with a testing two minutes of gruelling
general knowledge questions.
The
specialist subjects on which the celebrities will answer questions
include: Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes (Stephen Fry), The
Life and Works of Richard Burton (Shaun Williamson) and The Harry
Potter Novels of J K Rowling (David Blunkett).
David
Blunkett MP said: "I'm very much looking forward to taking
my seat in the famous black chair and I'll be trying hard not to
let nerves get the better of me.
"Being
grilled by John Humphrys on the Today programme will, I'm sure,
seem like a picnic in comparison to this ordeal."
Mastermind
is produced by Pam Cavannagh for ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Manchester Entertainment and
Features.
The
Mastermind specials will be screened on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TWO later this year.
Notes
to Editors
•
The first Mastermind Celebrity Special was broadcast in 2002 and
featured: Dr Adam Hart-Davis, Vic Reeves, Janet Street-Porter and
Jonathan Meades.
•
The television quiz show was first recorded at Liverpool University
in 1972. The black leather chair struck fear into the contestants
and even the theme tune - Approaching Menace by Neil Richardson
- is designed to intimidate.
•
Mastermind returned to our screens this summer after a five year
break with John Humphreys as the host. The final of the current
series will take place on 3 November on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ TWO.
•
Some of the most unusual specialist subjects to be featured on Mastermind
have included Theropod Dinosaurs, Sweet Peas, Iron Graveslabs of
England and the Life and Times of Author and Broadcaster Magnus
Magnusson!
Mastermind
Grand Final 2003 (28.10.03)
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